This invention relates to a method of coating a surface comprising a poly(aryl ether ketone) composition with metal and to certain articles having a surface comprising a poly(aryl ether ketone) composition plated with metal.
Poly(aryl ether ketones) are high performance engineering polymers useful for making a variety of articles by various melt processing techniques such as, injection molding, extrusion, and the like. For certain uses it may be desirable that metal be coated on the poly(aryl ether ketone) surface. For example, it is desirable to provide a molded connector of poly(aryl ether ketone) with a metal coating, thereby producing a shielded connector. Conventional methods of metal plating polymeric surfaces generally result in poly(aryl ether ketone) plated surfaces in which the bond strength between the metal and the surface is commercially unsatisfactory, especially if the poly(aryl ether ketone) contains little, if any, glass or mineral fillers.